SaGa Frontier 2: Where the Wild Things Are
by Crossover King 46
Summary: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust... a tribute to Gustave, the coolest video game hero ever. What did he think during his final stand?


A/N: This is something I came up with when I finished Gustave's scenario. I mean, Gustave is probably the coolest character ever, actually, I think I'm just a sucker for the underdogs. But still, you've got to admire him. He's probably the strongest character in the whole game hands down. Johan is cool too, but not nearly as cool as Gustave is. I've actually even sharked the game so that Gustave would be in my sub-party forever before, and that was cool. Wil Knights and Gustave working together is to die for, man. I mean, the spellcaster and the hero. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

**Where the Wild Things Are**

Gustave the Steel was, after being banished by his father from the Kingdom of Finney because he didn't have any Anima and couldn't wield the Firebrand, after being brought to Gruegel by Cielmer and meeting Flynn and Leslie, after going to Jade and making his first steel sword, the Trial Dagger, after witnessing his mother's death and conquering Wide, after taking back Finney and re-raising Hahn into Hahn Nova, after the Firebrand Tragedy where both Philippe and his son, Philippe II died, was facing his death.

The whole camp was being razed by the monsters that were spewing forth. Johan was gone, Gustave knew that his Anima had gone to join the rest of his soldiers in the afterlife. Johan was strong, surely he was, but with the poison eating away at him and in a weakened state, he had no chance. His heart, what was left of it, cried out for one of his most loyal soldiers, but he knew he would be joining them soon.

He had ordered Flynn and the other boy to run already, all his soldiers were killed trying to protect him. He knew he didn't have any Anima, and the reason he got this far was because of his unique combination of wit, cleverness and might. Then his thoughts turned to the people that stood by his side through thick and thin.

_His father._

He never got to prove to his father that he was more than a good-for-nothing, he never got to prove to his father how wrong he was in sending his own son away, he never got to prove to him that even though he had no Anima, he didn't need Spell Arts, all he ever needed, all he ever had, was his steel blade in his hands and his friends by his side.

_His mother._

He wondered if his mother would be proud of him at this moment. He wondered if his mother ever wanted him to take back the place that was rightfully his. He wondered if his mother would've objected to him killing his half-brother, Gustave XIV. He wondered if she was up high in heaven right now, with the rest of the Anima, watching over him.

_Kelvin._

His friend, the son of the count of Jade. The day they had met, he would remember for eternity. The boy, now man, that used to be so snobby and stuck-up, until that day in the caves. Where Kelvin truly first understood his pain for having no Anima, it wasn't because of the Spell Arts problem. No, it was much more. To be looked upon with disgust by everyone he knew, treated beneath the stone and the birds. Kelvin had approached him after the cave scenario, and offered his hand in friendship.

_Flynn._

His most faithful follower. The only person he knew that had no Anima, the only other person that understood his pain. He stayed by his side through thick and thin, and Gustave knew. The man that would later become an integral part of his army. He could still hear his voice, back around twenty years, yelling out "Master Gus!" as he bullied a kid on the corner of the street. Oh, how he had grown.

_Leslie._

He didn't know what to think of her. When he had met her in Gruegel, she was the most snobbiest person he had ever met. Then when they had reunited at Sir Thomas's party, she had grown so much. Now she was off, somewhere else...

_Bart._

The young pirate that he had met in the Silver Sails Fleet. That was a day he would never forget. The boy with the burning dream, the only person ever that stood at his equal, not higher, not lower, equal. His reflection in the mirror. During that day, he was Gus of the Silver Sails Fleet. He was happy then, and that ordeal gave him enough confidence to go forwards. Who knew the bad guys were the merchant fleet instead of the pirates? He sure didn't. In the end, Bart probably didn't know he was Gustave, the lord of Wide. Now, Gustave wondered, where was he? Somewhere out on the sea? Still trading?

Gustave turned to the monsters that were approaching him, and swiftly drew his sword. He raised it high above his head, and charged. One Double Slash after another, a Cross Break here, a Slice-and-Dice there. A Rotation Kick to the monster that knocked away his sword, and another Crush Beat to the creature that attacked him from behind. A Running Slash to destroy the evil that stood in his way, and another Cross Slash to the undead skeleton that tried to cut off one of his arms.

Blood from the monsters, blood from himself. They intermixed, and soon he was covered in the crimson liquid. He didn't want to lose, he didn't want to die. There was so much to live for, and he knew, that he had no Anima, he couldn't be reborn, he couldn't join the ones up there in heaven. If he died, then there would be nothing but pitch-black limbo for him. He was Gustave the Steel, the renowned Steel Soldier, the one that had trained a thousand steel troopers that could defeat normal troopers like a breeze.

But he knew, he would die today. The monsters had taken nearly military positions outside of the camp, there was no way out, and that is, if he defeated this never-ending horde first. But he made sure, if he was to die, then he would go out with a bang, not a whimper.

All through his travels, he had learnt. He had learnt every single Weapon Art from heaven to hell, from staff to axe, bow to spear... except for one. The skill that every swordsman in the land hunted after.

All of a sudden, he could feel the light bulb shining above his head, as his body was suddenly filled with power, with fury to protect. He raised his sword above his head, all the way to the sky. He was ready, to finally learn the one skill that eluded him all these years. The final technique to complete his arsenal.

**"MULTI-WAY!"**

Today was a good day to die.

**THE END**

A/N: I wrote this when listening to Rosenkranz and Erfolg from the soundtracks. Rosenkranz is so beautiful, it's holy or something. Gives you this calming down feeling, like everything in the world is okay. Erfolg just gives you this sad feeling, makes everything seem final, and you start looking at things different, man. I personally don't think Multi-Way is a cool enough name for the strongest sword tech in the game though. And the reason I let Gustave use both his fists and his sword is because I used him that way in the game.


End file.
